


Taking It Slow

by isuilde



Category: Seven Days
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Series, but no sex at all, discussions about having sex, does the female shino has a family name?, in which natsuki and shino are fussy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-30
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-30 23:03:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1024434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isuilde/pseuds/isuilde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Seryou, in the society we live in now, we’re actually taking it too slowly.”</p><p>(or, in which Yuzuru got his own apartment and moved out, and both Natsuki and Shino never stopped teasing Touji about getting it on.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking It Slow

**Author's Note:**

> I was in the midst of a stubborn writer's block, so I kinda wrote this absentmindedly and didn't think much about plots. Looking back, I think the only thought that crossed my mind was "Aah, I really wanna read more of Seven Days.."

“I didn’t know I have so many things, really.”  
  
Seryou let his gaze stray away from the box he was packing to the sight of his boyfriend on the other side of the room, yawning. It made him smile—Yuzuru-san always managed to look cute even when he yawned like a hippopotamus. Not that he looked like one, of course. “Actually, I think you might have to go shopping for more things, Yuzuru-san.”  
  
“This is so boring,” Yuzuru protested half-heartedly, mussing up his already untamable hair. “Let’s stop and go—oh, if we get moving now, we just might be able to catch that new thriller movie--”  
  
Seryou shook his head, giving a small laugh as two other voices from the other side of the room shouted back in a perfectly mismatched harmony, “You don’t get to run away when it’s your things we’re taking care of right now, Shino!”  
  
“What, Koike-chan, isn’t that what you guys are here for…”  
  
“You make us do everything and you don’t even lift a finger? Be ashamed of yourself, you woman-slave-driver!”  
  
“Uwah! Don’t wave the broom Koike-chan, it’s dangerous! It’s dangerous I said! Gah, Utsumi, not you too!”

**\-----o0o-----**

“You’ve been coming home awfully late these days, Touji,” Shino commented breezily just as the door was closed behind his back. “Still hanging out with that beautiful senpai of yours?”  
  
Seryou looked up, finding his brother sitting on the couch with Shino sprawled on his lap. Feeling heat rushing up his face—it had been sometime since he walked in on one of their make-out sessions, but honestly, it wasn’t his fault at all, they should’ve found somewhere else more private, right?—he kept his gaze a bit off to the side, averting his brother’s sharp gaze. “He’s going to move to a new apartment. I was helping him pack—“  
  
“Oh, is he? Ne, Natsuki, I think Touji’s day of becoming a man is fast approaching!”  
  
Seryou blinked, uncomprehending, as his brother grunted a non-committal noise. “My day of… becoming a man?”  
  
“Well,” Shino said, shuffling to get a more comfortable position on her boyfriend’s lap and winding her arms around Natsuki’s neck. “It’s to be expected. He’s living alone now, right? You’ll spend more and more time alone with him. Then he’ll get you to sleepover, and the next thing you know, you’re doing it.”  
  
Seryou gaped. He heard his brother made a gruff noise—most likely muffling an amused laugh into Shino’s neck—and felt his face getting hotter. This was ridiculous; Yuzuru wasn’t even the type who seduced people like Shino was. He closed his mouth, only to open it again in attempt to claim back his dignity. “I don’t think—“  
  
His feeble attempt was ruined when his brother spoke up; his bass voice smooth and betrayed no hint of joking: “Don’t forget the condoms.”  
  
Seryou threw his backpack towards the couple in annoyance, before hurrying upstairs, leaving behind Shino’s excited giggle and Natsuki’s laughter.

**\-----o0o-----**

The next day, Yuzuru took him inspecting his soon-to-be apartment.  
  
The first time Seryou stepped into Yuzuru’s empty apartment, he was quite awed by how spacious it was. One master bedroom, one guest room, a spacious living room, a bathroom and a kitchenette. For a person living alone, it was definitely more than Yuzuru needed.  
  
“Why two bedrooms?” he ventured, peeking into the master bedroom. It came with a queen-sized bed. And no, he wasn’t thinking anything weird, despite the suspicious look Yuzuru was giving him. Well, he supposed it was logical, since the first room he checked was the master bedroom.  
  
“Because you’ll be here a lot and there’ll be sleepovers. I can’t let a guest sleep on the couch,” his boyfriend answered, slipping into the room and hopping onto the bed as if testing it. He made a face. “What the hell is this?! I’m going to have to bring my own bed here.”  
  
“Or,” Seryou approached him; smoothly wound himself around to sit next to Yuzuru just a tad bit closer than necessary. His hand covered Yuzuru’s left one, and he leaned in, lips a breadth away from his boyfriend’s. “I could just buy you a king-sized bed, and you could turn the guest room into a working studio.”  
  
Silence fell between the two, as Yuzuru slowly blinked up at him.  
  
“What, you’d rather sleep on the couch then?”  
  
Seryou swore the crickets chirping out there were mocking him.

**\-----o0o-----**

“In one week,” Seryou said five days later; sitting on the couch as Yuzuru was sprawled with his head on Seryou’s laps and the younger boy’s fingers running through his hair. “How many people have come to your apartment, Yuzuru-san?”  
  
Yuzuru turned a pair of wide eyes at him. “How do you know people come?”  
  
“There are a lot of empty soda cans in the trash can,” Seryou smiled. “As much as you love those, I doubt you can finish twenty cans in a day.” His fingers tugged gently on the strands that tangled around themselves. “Speaking of which, it’s full. I think you should take it out, Yuzuru-san.”  
  
Yuzuru made a non-committal noise, turning his attention back to the movie playing. The movie was boring, as usual—no doubt Yuzuru was fooled by Keiko again—and Seryou knew it was only a matter of time until Yuzuru started complaining about how boring it was. In the meantime though, he would have his chance to enjoy the feeling of his boyfriend’s hair slipping through his fingers.  
  
A hand came up and rested on Seryou’s, keeping it buried in the messy dirt-colored strands. Seryou paused, looking down as Yuzuru turned his head and used his other hand to reach up, resting it on his nape, and brought him down.  
  
Their lips met briefly, a simple press of lips to lips—natural if a bit absentminded. Yuzuru-san’s kisses were always like that, Seryou thought, as Yuzuru drew back a little, lips still touching his in a teasingly fleeting touch. Seryou felt warm puffs of air on his nose, and then a rush of heat rose to his cheeks, because Yuzuru’s eyes suddenly delved into his, locking his gaze intensely—judging, contemplating, and there was a tinkling mischief—  
  
“Only six,” he felt Yuzuru’s lips moved rather than heard the words. “Six friends—including Koike-chan and Utsumi.”  
  
Seryou opened his mouth a little, and realized he couldn’t very well speak when Yuzuru was biting his lower lip. The only thing he managed to say was “…and?”  
  
Yuzuru drew back, shrugging. “You asked.”  
  
He stayed silent, watching Yuzuru turn back towards the TV—the main actor had been involved in a conversation with his rival for the past 10 minutes or so—and willing the heat on his cheeks to fade away. Did he misread the mood? Was Yuzuru-san really only stealing a kiss as he often did? Then again, Yuzuru was slow and thickheaded. He probably didn’t have enough sense to flirt with his own boyfriend. After all, their make-out sessions all these time had always been too spontaneous to even consider that Yuzuru ever thought of planning them.  
  
“Are you going to spend the night, Seryou?”  
  
“Huh..?” started, Seryou brought his gaze down. Yuzuru wasn’ t looking at him; oddly, he seemed to have found the movie so interesting that he wouldn’t look back even when Seryou tugged his hair again. Also—was that a blush on his cheeks? “I—uh… but it’s school night—tomorrow’s morning practice—“  
  
“Oh, that’s right,” still, Yuzuru resolutely kept his gaze on the movie, and lapsed back down to silence.  
  
Seryou hesitantly resumed his hand motion. Asking him to sleepover all of a sudden—could it be that Shino was right? Of course, thinking about doing that was part of being a healthy young man, and both he and Yuzuru were very much healthy. It wasn’t like Seryou had never found completion in his own hands with thoughts of Yuzuru filling his mind. But that and actually doing it was a completely different thing. Despite his reputation of having one different girlfriend every week, Seryou had never had sex before. Heck, before Yuzuru, he barely touched any of the girlfriends he had, even when they forced themselves on him. There was only Shino—and back then, he didn’t dare even suggesting to go past the heavy make-out sessions, knowing how much Shino still loved his brother.  
  
Come to think of it, the older boy had had girlfriends before, too. Had Yuzuru-san ever done it?  
  
“Yuzuru-san? If you want me to sleepover…“  
  
“No,” Yuzuru cut him off. “No, never mind, forget that. Let’s go out and get something for dinner.”  
  
With that, the movie was switched off, and Yuzuru stood up, chattering as he disappeared into his room to get his jacket. Seryou blinked, wondering what it was all about, but then Yuzuru was throwing his jacket and he had to stand up to catch it.  
  
Maybe he should ask.  
  
“Hmm, what should we eat tonight? What about soba? Oh, there is this Chinese restaurant that’s just opened near the station, should we go there? But udon sounds good, too…”  
  
Or maybe he shouldn’t.  
  
Shaking his head, half in amusement and half in exasperation, Seryou followed his senpai’s steps out of the apartment.

**\-----o0o-----**

Shino’s eyes were scrutinizing him.  
  
“Why do you come home every night?”  
  
“It’s my house,” Seryou said logically, and briefly wondered if a teenager like him weren’t supposed to come home every night. What kind of family was he living in? “I have early practice tomorrow, Shino, so I want to sleep early.”  
  
“It’s past midnight Touji, you can’t sleep early when it’s midnight. Why don’t you just sleepover at your boyfriend’s anyway? Didn’t you say he’s living by himself now?” the young woman was now on his heels, following him upstairs to his room with her own rushed steps and sounding more and more incredulous as they neared the bedroom. “Ne, Touji!”  
  
“It’s inappropriate.” And the guest room seemed cold, with its bland white walls and white curtains and a twin bed clad in white sheet Yuzuru’s sister had given him when he first moved. Seryou wouldn’t be able to sleep there—not when Yuzuru was literally next room.  
  
Shino snorted inelegantly. “You’re both boys. People don’t really think that far.”  
  
Shino would be surprised, Seryou thought warily, recalling the times Koike gave him and Yuzuru odd, calculative looks. He decided not to indulge Shino any longer though—it was past midnight and he was too tired for this. Turning his bedroom’s door knob and opening it, he raised a hand to cover his yawn, stepped inside, and waved off the young woman. “Good night, Shino.”  
  
“Touji! I’m trying to give you love advice here! Geez, and you’re the one who’s usually really smooth and charming those girls…”  
  
Seryou had to chuckle at that before closing the door on her face.

**\-----o0o-----**

He hadn’t lost his skill, though. The so-called ‘smooth and charming’ manner, that was. To be honest, he didn’t really try to be—and didn’t even notice that he’d activated it most of the time, until Yuzuru threw him a dirty look.  
  
“Wasn’t that cheating?” the other boy looked irked. “You’re cheating on me. I can’t believe you.”  
  
“Eh?” he blinked, unable to comprehend the annoyed tone lacing his boyfriend’s while handing him the crepe Yuzuru asked him to order earlier. It was his favorite, which also happened to be the shop’s best specialty, and considering how popular the shop was, Seryou wasn’t surprised to find that the last servings had just been sold to a couple of girls who had been queuing right before him. But just his luck, one of the girls was kind enough to offer her crepe.  
  
“She just offered, Yuzuru-san. I didn’t really do anything. I even tried to refuse, you saw me. She insisted—and you love this anyway.”  
  
“I do.” Yuzuru’s mouth made a thin line—an obvious sign that he was annoyed. “But there were a lot of unnecessary touching and staring, right there! That’s cheating. Definitely cheating.” He paused, glancing back towards the crepe vendor where the group of girls were still waiting for the last of their orders, and threw Seryou another dirty look. “She asked for your name, didn’t she? What’s her name?”  
  
“Uh—yes…? Her name’s Ichikawa—I think.”  
  
“And what did you say to her?”  
  
“Ah… I just thanked her and excused myself quickly. I didn’t tell her anything.”  
  
“Good.” Yuzuru grumbled, and Seryou felt heat rushing to his cheeks. Yuzuru-san was jealous. His Yuzuru-san was jealous, and it made him happy. “Don’t talk to random girls when you’re on a date—it makes me mad.” He turned to glance at the vendor for the last time, looking irritated, before chomping down on his crepe.  
  
Seryou watched in wonder as Yuzuru’s face light up in a matter of seconds, marveling at the delicacy filling his mouth. Yuzuru really had a knack for changing expression quickly, and it was one of the things about Yuzuru that Seryou found himself inevitably liked.  
  
“Ooh, this is really good! Na, Seryou, try some?”  
  
“Eh..? A-aah..”  
  
As he bit into one side of the crepe, the corner of his eyes caught the slight movement of Yuzuru’s head. He hadn’t a chance to react, before Yuzuru leaned in and bit the other side as well.  
  
He gulped. Yuzuru chuckled.  
  
“See? It’s really good, isn’t it?”  
  
The hand that was holding the crepe was brought down—Seryou could feel Yuzuru’s breath on his nose, and all logical things suddenly fled his mind. Screw the fact that they were standing in the middle of a crowded park, or that people were staring, or that there were children playing around them, because Yuzuru was so very close, and he was closing his eyes and the only thing Seryou would need to do was to lean an inch forward to press their lips together…  
  
The kiss tasted like vanilla and bitter, dark chocolate, of cheese and milk and pineapple—and it was utterly, utterly sweet.  
  
Yuzuru leaned back, and Seryou found himself leaning forward a bit more, lips capturing Yuzuru’s once again in a heady kiss. His boyfriend made a surprised noise, reflexively jerking back a little, but Seryou’s hand wound around his nape, pulling him closer and preventing him to back away. Even after they parted, breaths mingled and the sticky sweetness of the crepe still strong in their tongues, Seryou didn’t move.  
  
“Oi…” Yuzuru breathed out, managing to look somewhat annoyed even with his cheeks flaming red and a pleased undertone in his. “We’re kind of in public, here. Lost another screw?”  
  
Seryou chuckled, cheeks tinted with a shade of red. “Perhaps,” he whispered back, bumping their foreheads affectionately together. “Because Yuzuru-san makes me really happy.” He laughed softly as he drew back and turned away—he still had the decency to blush under people’s stares, really.  
  
“… Seryou.”  
  
He paused, turning back, only to catch Yuzuru’s odd, determined gaze—and again, he lost his breath.  
  
“Come back to my place,” Yuzuru said, sounding a little shaky. Seryou nearly stepped backwards in surprise, but Yuzuru’s gaze was like a steady anchor, hard and determined and certain. The younger boy opened his mouth, nearly stammered, and shut his mouth again. He laughed, shakily, running a hand through his hair in nervous excitement.  
  
“I—there’s morning practice—“  
  
“You can crash in my room tonight!” this one was louder, though it sounded a little unsure. Seryou stopped then, simply stopped, because Yuzuru was averting his eyes as an interesting shade of red crawled upon his cheeks up to his ears and his hands were balled into fists—but above all, above all—it was his expression that made Seryou stop.  
  
It was an order, Seryou recognized, and he couldn’t help but flush deeper.

**\-----o0o-----**

It reminded him of the time just before Yuzuru asked him to go out properly. The silence, that was. Thick and nearly oppressive, even as Yuzuru closed his apartment door behind their backs.  
  
“… Yuzuru-san…?” he ventured, and Yuzuru jolted with a surprised yelp. That drew a small laugh out of him as Yuzuru glared half-heartedly . Just like that, and he felt the tension decreased a little.  
  
“Aaaahh…” Yuzuru sighed, running a hand through his hair in a frustrated motion. “Seriously, what was I thinking…” he stepped towards the sofa in his living room and threw himself there on his stomach, arms concealing his face. Seryou smiled a little, before making his way to sit on the floor and leaned back to knock his head with Yuzuru’s shoulder.  
  
“…Oi, Seryou.” Slowly, the older boy’s head rose, and a pair of dark eyes peered at Seryou. “Go home.”  
  
“That’s mean, Yuzuru-san,” Seryou chuckled. “I’ve even called home to let them know I’m not coming home tonight.”  
  
Yuzuru groaned thinly. “You have morning practice tomorrow!”  
  
“It’ll be fine if I catch the earliest train.” He tilted his head sideways, pressing his cheeks to Yuzuru’s shoulder and stared into Yuzuru’s peering eyes. He had a second to hesitate, but the words were out of his mouth even before he could think of how to phrase it: “Are you thinking of touching me, Yuzuru-san?”  
  
When Yuzuru turned beet red, Seryou knew his own face was probably a shade of red darker than his boyfriend’s.  
  
“…Do you have to put it like that?” Yuzuru grumbled half-heartedly, slowly moving into a sitting position. He reached out, one hand tilting Seryou’s chin up before bending down. Seryou made a noise when their lips met, moving softly against each other, and the younger boy’s hand was suddenly on his nape, bringing him down, opening his mouth, inviting him deeper—he shuddered, gasped out Seryou’s name, and heard Seryou chuckle softly.  
  
“They say it hurts—” Yuzuru mumbled against the younger boy’s lips. Seryou hummed, sending a pleasant vibration he could feel as his lips moved again: tasting, feeling, enjoying. “—for the one who receives.”  
  
Seryou drew back an inch, eyes gentle and smile unwavering. “Do you want to take me, Yuzuru-san?”  
  
“You—“ Yuzuru faltered. He could even feel the tips of his ears burning hot with embarrassment. “You’ve been saying stuff—much too directly tonight, haven’t you?”  
  
Seryou’s eyes crinkled as his smile widened. “I was reminded about being smooth and charming.”  
  
“If that’s your idea of being—wait, who told you that?”  
  
“Does it matter, Yuzuru-san?”  
  
Breathless. As Seryou tugged Yuzuru’s collar forward to draw him into another kiss, he couldn’t seem to find enough oxygen—Yuzuru was everywhere. The color of his eyes, his breath, his scent, his taste, the flutter of his hair, the tiny noises he made—  
  
“…it..ngh…” a gasp for air, and Seryou swallowed that, too. “..ryo—hnnn…”  
  
It made him heady.  
  
“…said…ait…nghh….”  
  
He could feel Yuzuru clutching at his shirt, as if he was unsure whether to pull him closer or to push him away. He chose that moment to nip gently, prying open the older boy’s mouth open, and lure out the warm tongue to dance. There was a small growl—he couldn’t tell if it was his or Yuzuru’s, but their tongues had already battled for dominance, and he wanted Yuzuru closer, closer, closer—  
  
“..zuru-sa...” he gasped, drawing back a little in desperate effort to take in oxygen without breaking the kiss. Yuzuru followed, completely forgetting his position on the couch, as he leaned forward and tried to catch Seryou’s lips for more. There was half a second when the thought struck him—ah, I’m going to fall—and he flailed once, before gravity took over the rest and threw him onto Seryou’s waiting lap.  
  
Head first.  
  
Seryou noticeably flushed.  
  
“Waaaaaah!!” Yuzuru instinctively scrambled back—cheeks aflame for he was much too aware of the side of his head resting on Seryou’s crotch for half a moment before. A hand flew up to cover the lower half of his face as his head spun for a second, unable to register the equally embarrassed look Seryou was making, and how the younger boy couldn’t even lift his eyes to meet his gaze. Only after he caught Seryou’s fingers fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt did Yuzuru’s brain halted the chaos within.  
  
Seryou was actually fidgeting.  
  
And only then he noticed the unsure gestures Seryou had been making since they went into his apartment. Perhaps, thinking back, even before tonight.  
  
Lowering his hand and his gaze—the floor was proving to be much more interesting and safe to look at at this kind of time—Yuzuru shifted closer, tentatively reaching out until his fingers met Seryou’s shaky ones. He was supposed to be the more mature, after all, being two years older and all, even if there was a part of his heart that would forever remain that of a child. And if there was one thing he knew Koike didn’t lie about was the fact that Seryou had really never touched any of his girlfriends before Yuzuru.  
  
There might be exceptions, of course, with Shino.  
  
“Yuzuru-san?” Seryou ventured—a little bit breathless still, but his voice was gaining back the usual confidence. “Uh. Did I—well—“  
  
“Don’t.” Yuzuru held up his other hand—the one that wasn’t clutching Seryou’s fingers. “Don’t. Say it. Crap—that was embarrassing.”  
  
The younger youth chuckled, unable to hold off the amusement bubbling in his chest. Fingers squeezing Yuzuru’s own back, he leaned back as his posture visibly relaxed. “It’s alright,” he said, embarrassment now giving way to soft smiles and gentle affections. “This is the kind of thing that happens to couples, right?”  
  
“I bet nothing embarrassing happened when you and Shino—“  
  
“This is never about her, Yuzuru-san.” Seryou shook his head, too used to Yuzuru’s sudden insecurity towards Shino by now. “And we never did anything. She was still my brother’s girlfriend, see.”  
  
“Hnn.” Yuzuru slumped sideways, his forehead a dead weight on Seryou’s shoulder. His eyes fluttered close, and Seryou felt rather than heard his breath upon his bare neck. “…stay like this, for a bit?”  
  
“It’s nice,” Seryou agreed, turning sideways to bury his face on Yuzuru’s hair.  
  
They stayed that way for a while, breaths even and mingled in one perfect harmony within the silence of the apartment. It was moments like this that Seryou cherished the most; something he could only experience with Yuzuru—the absentminded-ness of their actions, the feeling of freedom that came with it, the happiness of being himself, and contentment of sharing that happiness with someone he loved. He could stay like this forever, he wouldn’t mind, and to be honest he was actually sort of disappointed when Yuzuru’s voice broke the silence: “Maybe we’re taking it too fast.”  
  
“That’s fine.” Seryou said, honestly.  
  
Yuzuru lifted his head just to give him an incredulous look. “Seryou, in the society we live in now, we’re actually taking it too slowly.”  
  
“That’s fine, too.” Seryou smiled, voice honest and warm because it really was fine, and he wasn’t just saying it to make Yuzuru feel okay. “I’m really alright either way. I trust Yuzuru-san, after all.”  
  
There was a pause, like something unspoken between Seryou’s words was hanging in the air as Yuzuru tried to grasp it, but then the older male broke into a soft smile, and Seryou knew everything was okay. He wasn’t the only one agonizing about this, he thought, and that made it all okay. They had their own pace, and that was what had made them happy all this time.  
  
“You’re just going to put the responsibility on me by saying that.” Yuzuru shook his head, voice gaining a teasing tone. “You’re just going to play the victim, aren’t you?”  
  
“Ouch, Yuzuru-san. That hurts.” He was grinning now, but his hand was clutching Yuzuru’s tighter as his boyfriend’s hand rose up to touch his cheek, drawing him into one last kiss—pressing their lips together softly, with that almost lazy, absentminded quality that Seryou loved about Yuzuru. It was alright—he had morning practice, too, so when Yuzuru pulled him up and stretched as a huge yawn escaping him, Seryou didn’t refuse.  
  
“Is it still okay to crash in your bed, Yuzuru-san?”  
  
“Yeah, sure. Oh, you should get the extra pillows from the spare room though.”  
  
It was nice too, feeling Yuzuru’s arm draped over his shoulder at the dead hour of the night, as he listened to the older youth’s soft snore. It was warm, and it made Seryou smile, even if Yuzuru sometimes kicked him hard on the shin. Or stomach. Unconsciously, but still.  
  
It was nice.

**\---o0ofinitoo0o----**


End file.
